Merchandising apparatus



March 20, 1951 '.I. J. NooNAN MERCHANDISING APPARATUS 15 Sheets-Sheet lFiled May 13, 1946 l liilllll lAlllll l mw /1 ,WQ

/Nl/ENr-OR JOHN J. NooNAN BVM @Trae/Vey March 20, 1951 J, J, NooNANMERCHANDISING APPARATUS 15 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 13, 1946 FIGB.

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March 20, 1951 J. J. NooNAN MERCHANDISING APPARATUS 15 Sheets-Sheet 5Filed May 13, 1946 FIG.9.

FIGB.

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/NVENTOR JOHN J. NooNAN /TTQgA/E" March 20, l J, J, NQONAN MERCHANDISINGAPPARATUS Filed May l5, 1946 15 Sheets-Sheet 4 /A/ VEN TOR JOHN J.NooNAN I 35 l s f? 46 F1631.

March 20, 1951 J, J, NOONAN 2,545,670

MERCHANDISING APPARATUS Filed May 13, 1946 15 Sheets-Shee'kl 5/AJVE/vro? JOHN J. Noo NAN EYMMW March 20, 1951 NOONAN 2,545,670

MERCHANDISING APPARATUS Filed May 13, 1946 15 Sheets-Sheet 6 /lv VEN rokJOHN J. NooNAN @MKM flTTof/VEY March 20, 1951 J. J. NooNAN MERCHANDISINGAPPARATUS 15 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed May 13, 1946 /A/l/ENTOR JOHN J. NooNANMM March 20, 1951 J. J. NOONAN MERCHANDISING APPARATUS 15 Sheets-Sheet 8Filed May 15, 1946 mt/ f 7 X W f N N NO K EO 0 WN pw Ku@ March 20, 1951J. J. NooNAN MERCAANDISING APPARATUS 15 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed May l5,1946 /A/L/E/vv-o/Q JOHN J. NOONAN March 20, 1951 .1. J. NooNANMERCHANDISING APPARATUS 15 Sheets-Sheet lO Filed May 13, 1946 /74/A/VE/vro@ JOHN J. NooNAN 5) /QTTORA/Ef March 20, J, J NOONANMERCHANDISING APPARATUS 15 Sheets-Sheet 11 Filed May 13, 1946/fvf/E/vrvk JOHN J. NooNAN 5f l TTORNEY March 20, J..J NOQNANMERCHANDISING APPARATUS 15 Sheets-Sheet l2 Filed May 13, 1946 WMM@ W n OMarch 20, l951 J. J. NooNAN MERCHANDISING APPARATUS l5 Sheets-Sheet 13Filed May 15, 1946 A MN O Mo EN u w FIC-3.55. JOHN J WVM/W r9 7' TOR/VETMarch 20, 1951 J. J. NooNAN MERCHANDISING APPARATUS l5 Sheets-Sheet 14Filed May 15, 1946 March 20, 1 J. NOONAN MERCHANDISING APPARATUS FiledMay l5, 1946 15 Sheets-Sheet 15 2.--.g Will/f:

/A/ VEN rol? JOHN J. NooNAN Bf MMM HTTONEY Patented Mar. 20, 1951 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE MERCHANDISING APPARATUS John J .Noona n, St. Louis,Mo. Application May 1a, 1946,*seria1 No. Y669,289

5- Claims. 1

This invention relates to a merchandising apparatus that isprimarilyadapted for use in retail stores for dispensing merchandise andautomatically calculating the amount Hwhich each customer must pay formerchandise which he has selected, and for registering or recording in atotalizer or totalizingmechanism in chargeof a store employee, the totalof theY amounts collected or received from the stores customerslduring acertain period of time, as, for example, durl by a customer, add thetotal of the sale price of the respectivearticles, usually by ringingup: the sale price of each article in a conventional cash register, andthen receive or collect from the customer an amount of money equal tothe number set up in the cash register, Which'represents the total ofthe customers purchases. During this transaction the checkeror anassistant packs the selected merchandise in a bag or other container inwhich the customer carries the merchandise awayA from-the store. In theabove merchandising system a dishonest customer can easily secret on hispersonY numerous articles of merchandise, inasmuch Vas the merchandiseoiereol for sale is displayed in unlocked zones 0r compartments, and nomeans is provided for indicating or noting the fact that the customerhas picked up and obtained possession of an article of merchandisehedoes notintend to payfor.

Hence, such a system is open to theobjection that the store owner isliable tosuffer considerable loss, due to theft of merchandise bydishonest customers. Another loss'results to the store owner if thestorecashier or checker, either accidentally or through connivance with adishonest customer, charges the customer for a less number of articlesthan he has obtained, or charges the customer a lower price than heshould have paid for the merchandise he carries away from the store.Another objection to the above mentioned-system is that a customer isliable to be charged for a greater number of articles than he receives,or is liable to be charged a price for an article in excess of the salesprice, due to the fact that the operation of'checking a customer and`receiving payment `for Vhis purchases is dependent upon the checkercorrectly remembering or noting from the price mark on each article, thesale price of the article and then properly ringing up the price orregistering the price of the article in the store cash register. Stillanother objection to such a system is the lengthof time required tocount the articles purchased by a customer, ring up the sale price 'ofsame in the :store cash register, and then pack the articles in acontainer. In fact, in many instances (particularly during rush hours),the cperation of checking'out customers not only greatly reduces thevolume of business which the store is capable of handling, but alsosubjects the customers to so much loss of time While standing in line,waiting to make payment to the cashier, that many people will notpat-ronize a store-employing such a system, notwithstanding thefact'that stores of the self-service type generally sell theirmerchandise at a lower price than stores of the kind which employ clerksto serve the customers.

`One object of my invention is to eliminate loss to a retail storeowner, resulting from thefts of customers and thefts and/or mistakes ofthe store cashier or checker, Who receives payment from the customersfor their purchases.

Another object is to reduce the time required tocollect or receive fromthe customers of a store, the amounts due the store owner for thecustomers purchases, thereby speeding up the throughput of business ofthe store and eliminating annoyance to the customers, due to standinglin line and waiting to make payment for purchased merchandise.

Another object is to eliminate the possibility of the customers of thestore from being overcharged for purchases, or for being charged formerchandise which the customer did not obtain.

Another object of my invention is to provide a merchandising apparatus,which, in addition to attaining the objects or results above mentioned,is easy to service, suiiiciently inexpensive to make it practicable foruse in a retail store that handles Apackaged merchandise, and ofsuiciently simple .design and rugged construction to insure itsremaining in operative condition, even when subjected to the rough usagewhich a merchandising apparatus for a retail store is liable to receive.

Another object of my invention is to provide an apparatus forregisteringor for producing a record ofa plurality `of individualtransactions, that is of rugged design and reliable in operation,inasmuch as co-acting pawls and ratchets are not-employed in that partofthe mechanism of the apparatus employed to add or produce a totalamount which subsequently is transferred into a totalizer.

And still another object of my invention is to provide a novel means forclearing or re-setting a counting device or adding device of the kind inwhich units wheels are directly connected with each other by co-actinggears that are always in mesh. Other objects and desirable features ofmy invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

The merchandising apparatus herein described, which constitutes mypresent invention, comprises or is composed of the following principleelements, devices, mechanisms, or instrumentalities, to wit:

(l) A plurality of normally locked merchandise dispensers, compartments,spaces or zones, which hold and display merchandise that is oifered forsale;

(2) A group of customers control units of identical'construction, thatthe customers of the store employ to obtain possession of articles ormerchandise which they desire to purchase, which control units are ofsuch construction that the operation of using a control unit to eiectthe release vor discharge of an article of merchandise from one of themerchandise dispensers, causes the sale price of the selected article tobe automatically set up in a register or counter forming part of thecustomers control unit; and

(3)-A store totalizer and re-setting device designed to be operated orrendered operative by the insertion in same of a customers control unit,and Yconstructed so that during the operation of transferring the amountset up in a customers control unit, into the store totalizer, thecounter or register of the customers control unit will be reset,cleared, or restored to starting position.

Each customer, upon entering the store, takes possession of one of theabove mentioned control units, and subsequently, inv going through thestore, and selecting the articles which he desires to purchase, thecustomer uses said control unit to effect the discharge or delivery fromthe various merchandise dispensers of the articles he has -v selected.During each of the above operations, i. e., obtaining possession of aselected article, a number representing the sale price of thatparticular article is set up in the counter or register of the customerscontrol unit, with the result that when the customer has completed hispurchases, his control unit will indicate the amount he must pay thestore cashier or checker. During the operation of obtaining possessionof selected articles from the merchandise dispensers and having the saleprice of the individual articles automatically set up in the counter orregister of the customers control unit, the customer packs his selectedarticles in a container, such as a paper bag furnished by the store, andat the completion of the operation of selecting the merchandise to bepurchased, the customer proceeds to the check-out counter, where hesurrenders his control unit to the store cashier or checker and paystheamount" represented by the number set up in the counter or register ofthe control unit. The'cashier then inserts the customers control unit ina space provided for same in theV store totalizer and actuates orrenders operative a mechanism which causes the number in the controlunit representing the total of the customers purchases, to betransferred to the store totalizer and also re-sets or clears thecounter of the customers -control unit.

' The above mentioned devices or mechanisms can be constructed invarious ways, Without departing from the spirit of my invention, but Iprefer to construct said mechanisms in the manner herein illustrated anddescribed, due to the fact that they co-act With each other to produce amerchandising apparatus that enables a large volume of merchandise to besold and delivered to the public by a large number of individual salesor transactions, with no loss to the store owner, due to dishonesty ofcustomers,- or due to dishonesty or mistakes on the part of the storeemployees, and accomplishes the above result without subjecting thecustomers to the annoyance of Waiting a considerable length of timeafter having selected merchandise for which the customers must paybefore leaving the store. Subsequently, I will specincally describe thedetails of construction and the method of operation of the differentmechanisms, devices, or instrumentalities that make up my improvedapparatus, but I desire to emphasize at this point some of the desirablefeatures or characteristics of my apparatus, as follows: Customers caneasily see and examine the merchandise oiered for sale, but it isimpossible for a customer to obtain possession of an article for whichhe will not have to account or pay for, inasmuch as a customer cannotobtain actual possession of an article, Without rst inserting hiscontrol unit in a space provided for same in a merchandise dispenser,which operation or the subsequent delivery of the selected article fromthe dispenser, results-in the sale price of the selected article beingset up in the vcounter of the customers control unit; the customerscontrol units and the merchandise dispensers are of such constructionthat, after a customer starts on the operation of obtaining possessionof an article of merchandise, he must complete the operation andactually pick up or remove the selected article before he can regainpossession of his control unit; the customers control units are of suchdesign and size that they can be conveniently held in a customers hand,and the counter or register of each customers unit is of such design andconstruction, that it is normally locked and cannot be manipulatedmanually, either by the customer or the store cashier, to change thenumber set up in the control unit to represent the total amount of thecustomers purchases; the customers control unit is provided with acounter or register comprising units wheels or number wheels, which, atall times, are in plain view of the customer, thereby tending to preventa customer from purchasing merchandise in excess of the amount of moneythe customer then has in his possession and also enabling a customer tocheck his cash at the completion of his purchases, and thus perchance,learn that he has sufcient funds left to make additionalV purchase, ifhe so desires; and the customers control unit is provdedfwith a gearedtype counter or register, which, in addition to being of rugged design,is inexpensive to purchase, easyv to service and capable of being builtinto a customers control unit, simply by the addition to the same of afew parts of simple design.

`Figure l of the drawings is a schematic plan view of a store equippedwith a merchandizing apparatus embodying my invention, illustratingdiagrammatically the component parts of the apparatus. f

Figure 2 is an isometric view of the customers control unit.

Figure 3 is a plan view of said control unit, with the-'housingbrokenzaway andshovvn in section Figure' 4 isf a-7 y Verticalflongitudinal sectional view; taken approximatelyfpnL-line Jl---4f ofFigureY 3.

'fl'iguresy 6 and `7 .aref vvertical"transverse sectional views,ftaken,respectively, on lines. 5-.5, 6--E,V and'l-"l of'Figure 3, illustrating.thea constructionand arrangement voffparts of" thefsetback controllingVmeans.

r Figurel 8 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing certain parts movedtoagree lwitliza different setting of the counter ofthe customerscontrol unit.

"Figures 9.andl 10 are similar views, showingthe parts in'other-positionsto agree .with stilldifferent settings of the counter.

'Figurell is a fragmentary, horizontal; sectional view, taken onlineH-LH of` Figure.6,1i1lustrat ing' theworm gearrdrive.

' Figure 12 isV a' fragmentary, vertical; sectional View on line |2-I2ofFigure 3.

i Figure 13 is a fragmentary end elevation of the customers controlunit,` partlybrokensaway and in section, so as to showwthe counter.locking-device and the driving gear on one end ofrthe opn erating'shaft.

Figure 14 is adetail sectional View, takenalong the lineM-IA of Figure13.

Figure 15 is an isometric View.v of theV store totalizer ortotalizing.mechanism,and the motor that forms part yoi the'setebackdevice, said'parts being mountedr above a cash' drawer.

'Figure 16 is.a-.fragmentary isometric'view of the accumulator orcounter of thestore totalizer.

' Figure 17 isa plan. viewof: the store. totalizer, with portions; ofYthefhousin'g broken' away andin section, showing'the parts in .theirnorrnalgorinn active position.

Figures 18, 19 andV 20 are sectional views,itaken on the lines l8-l8,l9-l9 and-2-20=of-Fig ure 17, showing, respectively, the totalizerlocking and switch-operating lever, the motordrive locking means and themotor switch.

Figure2l is a vertical sectional View of the clutch and operating'lever. locking means, as viewedalong line 2|-2I of Figure. 17.

1 Figure 22 isa verticalsectional View, illustrating the locking meansfor the accumulating counterv of the store totalizer, said view-beingtaken alongline 22-22 of Figure 17.

. Figure 23 is a vertical sectional view, showing said counter lockingmeans andtaken on line 23`23of Figure 22.

'Figure 24 isa fragmentary plan View similar to Figure 17, 1nut showingthe customers control unit inserted in the store totalizerfin positionto be set back, and the operating lever .depressed toy actuate the motorswitch.

Figures 25, 26 and 27 are sectional views, taken, respectively, alonglines `25-'2 5, AZB-Zliand 21-27 of Figure 24 similar to Figures 18,`19` and 20,eX- cept for the relativegchange in position. of parts.

Figures 28and-29 are sectional views, illustratingv the operation. ofthe lockingimechanisms, for the counterof the customers control unit andthe counter of the store totalizer, as` viewed, respectively, alonglines 28.-.281and 29-29 of Figure 24.'

Figures 30, 31 and 32 4are sectional views similar to Figures 25, 26 and27, but showing the parts in their respective positions at the time thecounter o the custornersl control ,unit has been set back *to Zero, andltheuoperation of..the motor has ceased.

'FigureI 33 is a front elevation, illustrating 'two ofxthe lockedmerchandise compartments or dispensers: with the.l 'dischargef devices.in Vc'iierent positions.

` Figure 34 is avertical sectiongitakerron..the-line .3d-'34 of Figure33.

Figure is an enlarged, fragmentaryitopplan view, tairenon theline 35-"35of :Figure.'33, for the purpose. of illustrating' `the construction '01"the turn-table and other co'facting partsoffthadispensng. mechanism.

. Figure 36 is a detailed sectionofthe-turntable locking means,:taken online 36-36 of Figurez35.

Figure 37 is a vertical section,.taken on' thefline 37-3'1 of 'Figure35.

`Figure 3S is a;fragmentary'. verticalrsectiom showing the turn-tablelockingmeans' in unlocked position.

Figure 39 is a vertical Asectional view,.:thereof, taken on line 33 39of- Figurez38.

Figure 40 is a vertical transverse section foi'the dispenser operating.me.chanisrn,..taken on :line ille-43)` of Figure 35.

Figures 41 and 42 are vertical sections, `taken' on lines 4 I-land.4242, respectively, of, Figure 40. Figure 43 is an inverted plan.view of..a portion of the dispensing mechanism and locking means.

Figure 44 .is a longitudinal vertical...sectional view, taken on line44-44 ofFigure. 43.

Figure 45 is a crossfsectional' .view;taken ;.on line :i5-45 of Figurev43.

Figure 46 is a perspective .view of. azlocking lever.

Figurev 47 is a sectional elevationY of thetoperating handle stop`means, .taken Online 4-7--41 of Figure 40.

Figure 48v is a similar view,: with' theihandle moved to its opposite`position.

Figure .49 is a reducedside. elevation'zofthe housing and access doorfor thedispensing mechanism.

Figure 50 is a view similarto Figure 35, but showing the customerscontrol'. unit locked in place and the mechanism-.moved toppartiallytransfer. theV purchasef. price thereto.

Figure 5l is a vertical sectional view; taken on line 5|-5I of Figure50.

Figure 52 is an inverted lplan viewxfsimilarto Figure 43, but showingthe parts movedy in accordance with Figure 54).

Figure 53 is a longitudinal verticalsectional View, taken on line Y53-53o Figure 52.

Figure 54 is a detail `section of -the locking mechanism, taken alonglinev54-54Y0fFigure 52.

Figure'55 is an inverted plan- View' similar -to Figure 52, out showingthe relationrof :partsl at the time of the completion of the priceVtransfer into the counter of the customers con-trol unit.

Figure 56 is a detail section, taken on line .5S-56 of Figure 55.

Figure 57 isa-plan'view' similar Vtofligure 35, but showing the parts'inthenalmerchandise dispensing position.

Figure 58 is a fragmentary sectionalview'of the price settingarrangementas viewedalongziine 58-58 of Figure 57.

Figure 59 is a detail section Aof the turn-table locking means,viewedalonglineES-SS of Figure 57.

Figure 60 is a similar-yiew, but showing-.the parts. in unlockedlposition.

'Figure 6l is a longitudinal section'takeuon line EI-l Aof Figure 57.

lFigure `62 is an inverted plan view :sirnilarggto Figure 43 hutvshowing.. the.. partsrin ,the position corresponding tothat shownzin'Figures57.

Figure: 63 isV a longitudinal vertical1--xsectiona1 view, taken on line;6 3 6 3 .of-`. Figure .62,3 and Figure 64 is a cross-sectional view,taken on line 64-64 of Figure 62.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a merchandising apparatusconstructed in accordance with my invention, the reference character Ain Figure l designates a retail store of the self-service type, forexample, a grocery store, provided with an entrance door A', and an exitdoor A2. Near said entrance door is a table or other supportingstructure on which are arranged a plurality of customers control units B(one for each customer) which are intended to be used by the customersto obtain possession of 4merchandise displayed for sale in a pluralityof locked merchandise compartments or dispensers C, and also used by thestore cashier or checker to record or register the total of all of thecustomers purchases, during a certain period of time, in a storetotalizer and resetting device D, that is arranged adjacent the exitdoor A2 of the store. Upon entering the store a customer receives one ofthe control units B. He then proceeds to a merchandise dispenser C,inserts his control unit B into a slide in the dispenser, andthereafter, upon actuation of an operating handle, one of the articlesin said dispenser will either automatically be ejected from thedispenser, or arranged in such a position that the customer can gainpossession of the article. 1n the particular form of my invention hereinillustrated, it is necessary for the customer to pick up the selectedarticle and place it on a delivery device or discharge device, but Iwish it to be understood that my invention contemplates the use ofmerchandise dispensers of such construction that the insertion of thecustomers control unit in a dispenser containing an article the customerdesires to purchase, will automatically effect the discharge of theselected article, and, of course, also cause the price of that articleto be set up in the register or counter of the customers control unit.In the particular apparatus herein illustrated actuation of theoperating handle, above mentioned, will cause the price of the selectedarticle to be set up in the counter of the customers control unit,during the operation of manually moving a delivery device on which thearticle has been positioned. Upon completion of his shopping, thecustomer presents his control unit to the cashier, who notes the totalamount of the articles purchased and then receives the price of samefrom the customer, thus checking out the customer and permitting thecustomer to leave the store. Thereafter, the cashier inserts thecustomers control unit into the store totalizer and re-setting device D,and actuates a mechanism which automatically restores the counter orregister of the customers control unit to zero, and transfers the amountpreviously set up in the counter of the customers control unit into amechanism (the device D) whose function is to add or total the purchasesmade by all of the customers of the store, and register or produce arecord of same.

Customers control um't The customers control unit, shown in Figures 2through 14, is virtually a small portable adding device that can beconveniently held in a persons hand. It is of such construction that itis parnected from each other, and constructed so that after a numberrepresenting a total amount has been set up in the counter or registerof said adding device, as a result of actuating said device a pluralityof times so as to add several numbers together, said adding device canbe arranged in operative engagement with said totalizer, and thereafteroperated or actuated in such a way that the amount set up in the addingdevice will be transferred into the totalizer, and the register orcounter of the adding device will be automatically cleared or restoredto its starting position. As shown in the drawings, the customerscontrol unit B comprises a base I, to which a geared type counter 3 isattached, as, for example, by means of screws 2, said counter having anoperating shaft 4 extending outwardly from each end face thereof. Inthis type of counter rotation of the shaft 4I in one direction will addunits into the counter 3 at the rate of I0 units per revolution of theshaft 4, said units being accumulated by units wheels or discs, so as toproduce a number or amount. Rotation of the shaft 4 in the oppositedirection will subtract units from the counter 3 in a similar way. Ahousing 5 that encloses the counter 3 and other mechanism, has anopening 6 in the top wall thereof, so as to expose to view the unitswheels or discs of the counter, as shown in Figure 2. Secured to one endof the operating shaft is a small gear 'I having a portion of its teethexposed through a slot 8 in the housing 5, said gear being adapted to beengaged by a driving member, as hereinafter described. Secured to theopposite end of the shaft I is a similar gear 9, also exposed through anopening in said housing, the gear 3 constituting a driving member, ashereinafter described.

The number set up in the counter 3 of the customers control unit istransferred into the store totalizer D by inserting said unit in a spaceprovided for same in the totalizer, and thereafter clearing orre-setting the counter 3 of the customers control unit. I have devised anovel mechanism for stopping, determining or controlling the startingposition of the units Wheels of the counter 3 of the customers controlunit during the operation of re-setting said counter. Said mechanism isof the following construction: Fixed to the shaft 4 adjacent gear 9, isa worm I I that is adapted to drive two Worm gears I2 and I3, mountedfor rotation on vertical shafts I4 and I5, fixed in a boss portion ofthe base plate I (Figure 6) Mounted on a hub portion of worm gear I2 forrotation therewith, is a collar I6 having a lateral extension Il.Similarly mounted on a hub extension of gear i3 is a flanged collar I8which carries an upstanding pin I9 for pivotally receiving a lever 2D.One end 2l of this lever extends outwardly for selective engagement withextension I'I. r:Che opposite end of lever 2@ is provided with anupstanding pin 22 and is normally urged towards the shaft I5 by atension spring 23. Fixed to the upper ends of shafts I4 and I5 is aguide bar 24 having slotted end extensions 25 and 26 for slidablyreceiving a slide bar 21 Whose position controls the stopping of a motoror other operating device that rotates the shaft 4 of the customerscontrol unit in a direction to re-set the counter 3. The slide bar 2 isprovided with upstanding stop pins 28 and 29 and is relieved near itscenter to form a shoulder all. A tension spring 3l urges the barrearwardly to a limit defined by contact of pin 28 with extension 25,and laterally as restricted by the extent ofthe slot in portion 26(Figure 8).

lt will be noted that in this position of parts the slide bar 21 liesagainst pin 22 on lever 20. Fixed to the operating shaft 4 between wormII and adjacent counter wall, is a hub 32 having an extending arm 33.Normal rotation of this arm with the shaft 4 will clear the portion ofthe slide bar adjacent shoulder 30, as shown in Figure 9.

The above described worm-gear-driven extensions and slide bar mechanismis so arranged that it will become operative only as the units Wheels inthe counter 3 approach zero. This is accomplished by providing adifferential toothed condition of the gears I2 and I3. In the presentexample, gear |2 is provided with twenty-three teeth, while gear |4 hastwenty-four teeth, which will cause a differential angular relationbetween extension |1 and lever extension 2|, upon successive revolutionsof these gears. Considering six units to be set up in the counter 3 ofthe customers control unit, as indicated in Figure 8, the outer ends ofextensions |1 and 2| will be at the point of contact. Further unitsaccumulated in said counter will cause these extensions to move awayfrom each other, and due to the high gear reduction between worm andworm gears, said extensions will not come into closely-spacedrelationship until approximately two hundred forty units have beenaccumulated in the counter 3, as shown in Figure 9. Since there is a onetooth difference between gears |2 and I3, there will be an angularvariation of one tooth therebetween. Therefore, extensions I1 and 2|will not meet and no movement of lever 20 will result. Continuedaccumulation of units in the counter 3 will merely widen the angulardifference between these extensions, as will be apparent from Figure 10,which illustrates the condition of the co-acting parts when four hundredeighty units have been accumulated in the counter. In operating theshaft 4 in the reverse direction, to set back the counter, clear it, orremove the units from the counter, the same conditions will prevailuntil six units remain in the counter. Further rotation of the operatingshaft 4 Will cause contact of extensions |1 and 2|, which will result inangular displacement of the lever 20 relative to the collar I8 againstthe force of spring 23. This movement of parts will cause pin 22 toforce the slide bar 21 laterally towards the counter 3 to a positionshown in broken lines in Figure 8. With the slide bar in this position,the shoulder 3E) thereof will now be in the path of arm 33, and as thelast unit is removed from the counter 3, such arm will contact theshoulder, and thereafter move the slide bar longitudinally until stoppedby contact of stop pin 29 with bar extension 26, as shown in Figure 3.This longitudinal movement of the slide bar is utilized to arrestmovement of a controlling means for a clearing mechanism or set-backdrive mechanism, later described. An opening 35 is provided in thecasing adjacent the slide bar end, for insertion of a suitable portionofthe controlling mechanism. It will be apparent that when the counter 3is cleared or restored to zero, the above described parts will reversetheir direction of movement.

Normally, the counter or register 3 of the customers control unit islocked by a pivotally mounted locking lever 3B having an offset upperend which normally projects into a selected tooth of gear 9 and preventrotation thereof, a spring 31 being provided to maintain such lockingcondition, as shown in Figure 13. A ange 38 on lever 36 projectslaterally into alignment with an opening 39 in the casing 5, so thataccess may be had thereto for releasing the locking lever. This leverprevents the operating shaft 4 of the customers control unit from beingrotated to change the condition of the counter 3, when said unit is notarranged in operative engagement with either one of the merchandisedispensers C, or with the totalizer and set-back device D. The housing 5at each of its end faces, is formed to provide grooves 49 for slidablyengaging flanges of guide slides on associated devices. It will be notedfrom Figure 2, that the housing 5 is formed to closely follow themechanism on the interior of same, so that the overall form and size ofthe customers control unit will comfortably fit a customers hand.

Store totalz'zer and re-settz'ng device The store totalizer andre-setting device D, illustrated in Figures 15 through 32, comprises asupporting plate 45 secured by screw and spacer assemblies 46 to theupper wall 41 of a cash drawer housing 48, or other suitable supportingstructure. Also secured to the wall 41 adjacent plate 45 is an electricmotor 49 having a shaft extension 50, to which is pinned a cup member 5|(Figure 2l). Rotatably mounted on the shaft extension and retainedthereon by screw 52, is a clutch collar 53 having spring-pressed shoes54 frictionally engaging the inner face of cup 5|. The outer end ofcollar 53 is toothed to form a gear 55, which is positioned toyieldingly drive the gear 1 of the customers control unit B uponinsertion of said unit and energization of the motor. Secured to theupper face of plate 45 are guide tracks 56, formed and positioned toslidably receive the groove 4U of the unit B, as shown in Figure 24, aplate 51 providing a stop to finally position said unit. Positionedrearwardly of the plate 45, is a shaft 58 rotatably mounted in bearingbrackets 59 and supporting a mercoid switch 6U at one end thereof forcontrolling the motor 49. Fixed to the shaft near the opposite endthereof, is a lever 6|, to one end of which is pivoted a stop bar 52guidingly supported in a boss 53. The outer end of the stop bar extendsforwardly to be received at certain conditions of operation, throughopening 35 in the housing 5 of the customers control unit B, uponinsertion of said unit into the device D, as shown in Figure 25. To theopposite end of lever 6| is pivotally secured one portion 54 of acompressible link $5. Pivotally mounted on pin 66 is a locking lever 61,

. having an arcuate extension B8 movable through an opening 69 in theplate 45. The opposite end of this lever is provided with a button 10for manual actuation, and a downwardly-extending portion pivotallyreceives a portion 1| of link 65. An extension spring 12, fixed to lever61 and pin 13, is positioned to create a toggle action and maintain thelever in either locked orunlocked position. The compressible link 65,comprising the slidably connected portions 64 and 1|, is normallymaintained in its extended position by spring 14, but under certainconditions, later described, limited rotation of shaft 58 may beeffected without disturbing the locked position of lever 61. Pivotallymounted on the under face of plate 45, is a bell crank locking lever 11having one end extending into the path of locking lever end 68, so as toengage a shoulder 18 thereon when the lever 61 is in the unlockedposition shown in Figures 17 and 18, such locking condition of lever 11being maintained by spring 19. The opposite end of lever 11 is providedwith an upstanding pin 80,

